


Future

by Kosasasalty



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-29
Updated: 2016-02-11
Packaged: 2018-04-17 19:27:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4678544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kosasasalty/pseuds/Kosasasalty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Time Tracer falls into the timeline where Esper, Mastermind, and Lusa is currently residing at. Truths are uncovered during the stay and will a different conclusion be reached?...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“I…Where am I?!”

The Tracer sat up at the blankets on top of him flew off, landing in a crumpled mess on top of his skinny legs. An older boy stood at the table nearby looked at him with a surprised look. He was quite skinny, like the Time Tracer, and had hair of similar color. He held a tray with soup and water in his hands and he was tall. What was Time doing here? Where is this place?

“I found you outside my house, and you were near death from bleeding so I took you in and treated you.”

The boy spoke as if he read Time’s mind, and sat the tray down onto the tabletop. Then he pulled over a chair at the bedside and sat down.

“You feeling better?”

He asked softly in a caring tone. This only made Time more wary of him.

“Who are you and why are you doing this?”

The Tracer questioned and is expecting a clear answer. The boy sitting by his bed looked surprised for a second then shook his head to clear up his confusion. Why was he acting like this?

“My name is Esper”

Of course Esper had to hide his real name. Or else his past self will freak out and ask more questions.

“And I am doing this because I find you ruining my view of the meadows. The grass was red around you.”

Time brought his hands up to his face. Little traces of blood seeped through the heavily bandaged fingers and dying the fabric red.

“Looks like it’s time to change your bandages. Wait for me.”

Loud yells were heard through the walls as Esper walked out the room with the door closed. Fumbling noises and yelps sounded in the silent space. Sunlight basked the room with warmth and tingled Time’s skin. This feeling of tranquility…, when was the last time he felt like this? The time is his lab was a cold and menacing kind of silence, but this was different. Innocence and normality were the words to describe it, and the last time he felt it was in his house when he was small, before his enslavement.

“Hey, hold out your arms for a little please?”

Ah, Esper was back. Time held out his arms and Esper carefully undressed the bandages. He withdrew a wet cloth from a bucket and cleaned the blood with care, making sure that Time didn’t feel pain. Then he dried it and put on some fresh bandages. The process felt like it hadn’t happened at all.

“You should eat.”

Esper suggested quietly to the eyepatched boy, seeing the state Time was in reminded Esper of himself when he first came into this dimension. Mastermind and Lusa took turns caring for him and helped him become healthier. Seeing them argue over how they should take care of him was calming, and-it felt like a family.

“Can you get the tray for me? You know, I can’t get it myself…”

Time agreed to eat, however he was not hungry. He is not an asshole and would like to show gratitude to the person who saved his sorry ass. Esper retrieved the soup tray and placed it on top of Time’s lap gently.

“I’ve leave you to eat alone…”

Esper excused himself and left the room. Peace and quiet filled the room once again. Time picked up the spoon and looked at the bowl. The soup was still hot, and it was the kind that his mother always made for him when he was small. He spooned a bit and ate it, and the warm and salty taste filled his mouth. It wasn’t half bad.


	2. Chapter 2

     The white haired boy sat there, now with less bandages. A few days had passed and he slowly healed, condition well enough to leave on his own. But then Esper and two others insisted on him staying. What does Esper need him for?

* * *

     "He's not going to leave! At least not until I tell him his fa-!"

     "Esper, that's enough."

      Esper yelled out in frustration as if he was throwing a tantrum, and Add and Lusa are not amused by this. Esper seriously needs some rest on this topic. Add rubbed his temples and Lusa stood cross-armed in front of Esper, who was sitting on the couch. He looked like he was on the edge of tears, and it was truly a pitiful sight. This was a rare side to the esper, as for he was usually emotionless and quiet. Chaotic at times, but still full of remorse. Seeing the past broke him eternally, and Add and Lusa can't do anything about it. They even know more about each other than anything about Esper. He had always found ways for himself to avoid Add's questions.

      "Hey, you two."

      "Hmm?"

      "Yeah?"

     All looks were directed at Esper who were knitting his fingers together and then untangling them.

     "Let's get Time to call us the aliases given to us."

      That was the only logical thing to do, as for they all shared the name "Add", and it would be weird if "Add" called "Add" for something. Add would be Mastermind, Lusa would still be Lusa, and he will be Esper. This prevents Time from freaking out and try to attack them, hence they will be able to take care for Time easily.

     "When do you think he is well enough to go to a dungeon?"

     "A few more weeks my drones said, but Esper-what are you planning?"

     "Shut up. It's none of your business."

      Esper finished with a glare sent Add's way. They all left for their businesses after that, and Add gathered some of Ciel's cookies and made some hot chocolate. He gathered them onto the tray and got his drones to grab him some bandages. He knocked the on the door of the room Time is staying in. A muffled 'come in' managed its way through the wood and Add opened the door. Time was looking at him with his un-black eye innocently. No one would think that such a person was insane from a first look.

      "Are you feeling better?"

      "I guess..."

      Time looked down. His hands were joined together, laying on the lilac bedsheets. Little trickles of blood, and occasionally mixed with something that seemed like ink, seeped through the bandages again. Time returned his gaze to the w- man that stood at the door.  
     

      "I'll change your bandages. But first, have a cookie. These are specially made from a friend."

      Add said as he placed the dish of cookies onto the bedside. A lamp was set unlit there and the window was open. The scenery felt unreal. The sunlight made it look like the woods and the meadow came straight out of a painting. The occasional breeze blew the translucent curtains waving in the air. Add silently cleaned the wound and wrapped some new bandages on Time's hands.  
     "Have some hot chocolate also."  
Why was he being so kind? But at the same time, Add felt so pitiful for Time, as for how he was lifelessly living through the days, repeating the cycle of searching for the right timeline like a machine. He saw Esper in Time, and Add wished that they would rest sometimes. After all, they are the same person, and they need to take care of each other. Add thought back to how Time came into their lives the same way Esper did, bleeding and barely hanging on for life.

      "There. All done."

      "Thanks,...Ummm,..."

      "Mastermind."

      Time looked at Add with a confused expression.

      "Ah, it's a nickname we use around the house. The meath- muscular one that you'll see later on is Lusa."

      "Ok."

      Add gathered the finished cup of hot chocolate and the empty dish of cookies onto the tray and said a silent goodbye. He left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

     "Oi Add!"

 

     "Yes, Lusa?"  


     A grumble came from the scientist's mouth as he is checking through his project files.

 

     "Wha' d' your drones say 'bout Time's physical condition?"

 

     "Heavily underweight, but he can eat normally now. Injuries have healed enough, and he's able to walk. Needs a lot of sleep."

 

     "Like a certain someone."

 

     "Shut up Lusa."

 

     Poor Time had to eat porridge and cookies with milk the past couple of weeks. Lusa   
finally decided to finally step in and improve Time's health and physical condition-by cooking him a feast. He was the household's cook, after all, and the other two can't manage to cook anything. Esper can decently make a meal for himself, but too un-nutritional. Add can't even make rice. When he was out for business, all the other two had for dinner was a cookie each. He rushed home right away to make them a proper meal before heading out again. Attempts to teach them the food pyramid and how to cook ended up with their ED going into fixing the kitchen from a fire. Guess he'll be going out for groceries soon.

* * *

 

     Time finally healed enough to get out of the bed and walk around the house. The older boys aren't allowing him to go any farther down the meadows though. The house was modern, with a self built air conditioning since there was no one out there who can build this kind of technology. Minimalist designs were shown clearly in every room, or rather they didn't care about furniture? Time sat at the dining table, waiting for food. Esper and Mastermind was called out for dinner by Lusa, and he returned to the kitchen shortly after that. The atmosphere at the dining table was unsurprisingly quiet, since there was no topic to discuss, that was, until Esper broke the deathly veil of silence.

 

     "Time, can you see clearly?"

 

     "What do you mean 'if I can see clearly'?"

 

     "You've been walking around with that eyepatch ever since we met you."

 

     "I've got an injury."

 

     Esper knew. That was simply a lie. Time clearly looked annoyed when Esper asked, but also slightly sweating nervously. But Esper knew. He knew all about what is happening to Time.

 

     "Eat up!"

 

     Esper's train of thought was broken as Lusa set dinner onto the table and getting a seat himself. Laid before them was a feast, with all the nutritions one would need for a training program.

 

     "Where did you get all this."

 

     Mastermind clearly phrased it as a sentence, and not an question. Yet Lusa answered.

 

     "I bought them, how else?"

 

     "With whose money?"

 

     Lusa knew what was going on, Mastermind's face was dark as for their ED was blown away by making this meal. Mastermind was quite a nitpick at saving money...

 

     "Let's just eat."

 

     After dinner, Esper dragged Time over to his room, and sat down on the bed. He invited Time over next to him, and the Tracer reluctantly came over.

 

     "I know what's happening."

 

     "Nothing's happening-"

 

     "Stop lying to me Time, I know what's under that eyepatch."

 

     "Oh no you don't-"

 

     That moment, air came into contact with Time's left eye, his cursed, corrupted, and a disgusting black eye. The feeling of his eyepatch's strap wasn't there anymore, and it lay in Esper's grip. Time's first reaction was to cover it, however Esper pried his hands from there with a force unlikely for someone as scrawny as him.

 

     "What the hell do you think you're doing-"

 

     "It's black, isn't it."

 

     How did Esper know, even when his eye was squinted shut?

 

     "Your eyes are pitch black, your blood is darker, am I right?"

 

     Shutupshutup **shutupshutupshutupshutup** -

 

     " _How did you know_?"

 

     The sound that came out of Time's mouth sounded nowhere near human.

 

     "Because I am you. Mastermind and Lusa too, are you. We're all the same person. We all know."

 

     What the hell was going on? Time was sure that alternate versions of himself existed, but having multiple different alternate selves in one dimension...This made no sense. Time simply grabbed the eyepatch out of Esper's hand and hurriedly put it on as he rushed out of that room. Esper only sat quietly and watch his younger self barge out the door.

 

     His fate is inevitable.


	4. Chapter 4

     The past few weeks was a new experience for Time. He had never received so much care since his childhood. Mastermind, Esper, and Lusa treated him like they were brothers, and occasionally helped him on his Nasod Armor and spacial-temporal equations. Almost his all of his wounds have healed, and he needed to leave soon. He can't let his mother wait, can he?   
Sitting at the desk in the guest room he's staying in, he scribbled down tiny and messy equations for his dynamo codes, filling the paper quickly with barely readable numbers. Esper asked if he would want to do a dungeon with him, taking the excuse that maybe Time needed to do some combat again after being idle for so long. He guessed maybe he needed some exercise too. A knock came from a door, signaling that it's time to go. Last week Esper started to act more deranged, little by little. Time asked Mastermind and Lusa about this, but they said that this was Esper's normal behavior. Huh. Time left the room, following Esper to the dungeon grounds. They entered at the Shrine of Dedication, steadily making their way towards the Altar on top of the mountain. Esper's body-tight clothes slowly got stained with blood and He just continued to plow through the monsters while cackling. The only thing Time did was clear out the remaining trash that Esper missed. Esper just keeps getting more and more deranged as they made way through the stages, sadistically laughing when he pulverized his enemies with the cracks he created. By now Time just followed along when Esper cleared the area. Finally they reached the Altar. Berthe appeared, and they both started to attack. A while later, they lost heavy amounts of blood and Esper is almost collapsing. Will they be okay?

 

     "Esper! Are you hanging on?!"

 

     "Keheheh...KAHAHAHA! You really thought that could take me down?"

 

     Esper chuckled darkly and suddenly a big wave of electricity emitted from him, similar to... Time's Dynamo Configuration Mode?! He didn't notice that Esper had six floating rhombus shaped things around him, similar to Dynamos. Why didn't he notice it before?! Probably he wa focused on the power that Esper had, if he had all that power, going back to his mom would be...

 

     "Kuk...Ahaha..AHAHAHA!"

 

     Esper emerges from behind his blast that he created, eyes dilated and sclerae pitch black. Face formed a twisted and mad grin, with a posture that looked like he hasn't slept for years. Berthe kept attacking him, but only the debris made it through the portals that Esper created to reflect the attacks back at the boss. Soon the monster was taken down, but...what is that black liquid that flowed from Esper's wounds? It's thicker than water, could it be blood? Esper slumped and turned around to look at Time, who had an awed look on his face. Esper had his white sclerae again, and his eyes looked broken. He limped over to Time and gripped his shoulders.

 

     "That. That monster. You would have had to defeat him 8 times. 8 TIMES!"

 

     "Esper I-"

 

     "To become like me! LIKE ME! Time, do you want to become like me? A monster that was worse than Berthe?"

 

     "Esper what's this about becoming you-"

 

     "Time, I'm you. In the future of another timeline. I went too deep. Spiraled out of control. All the time travel corrupted my system. Disarranged my organs, turned my blood black, and the disgusting eyes too! Do you want this? This train-wreck of a person? Do you want to become like me? Stop time travel please. I beg you. Take on improving your Nasod armor. Building drones. Add and Lusa are you too, but different fates, different futures. They'll help you, just-"

 

     "Esper, calm down. I have made this decision, and I won't turn back anymore."

     

     "But-"

 

      "Just shut up."

 

      Esper just said nothing as he stared at his younger self. A sniffle, a sob barely made its way to Time's ears. Before he know it, Esper was crying, hugging him and wetting the Tracer's shoulder. Time could only return the embrace, knowing how Esper has been pushed past his limits. He will become like that too if he's not careful...

 

     "I have one thing to ask of you."


	5. Chapter 5

     "Give me the codes to get back to mother."

     "They're not correct-"

     "I'm aiming to do something different."

     Esper looked at Time's determined eyes. 

     "I'll take care of them."

     "... Then I'll take you there. Save your energy."

     Esper ripped open air as a wormhole came to existence. He beckoned Time to step in it and they glide through the continuum crowded with debris and shards. Ahead was a bright light and Time stumbled into a familiar prairie. His hometown.

* * *

 

     "Trey? Are you okay?"

     "I-I'm fine..."

     The two grown men stood at the graveyard that was populated with a small crowd. It wasn't raining, but Time was sure that what was streaming out of his eyes right now were not tears. He didn't want to cry. He had a happy life here, he didn't want it to end. Aster stood beside him, concerned about his not-related-by-blood older brother, and they had a wide age gap of 10 years. This current life Time had, he spent it with his mother, and his younger self. Doing the best he could, he made their loves a pleasant one. Still, death is unavoidable.

     "At least she died peacefully..."

     Aster couldn't hear the mumbled sentence from Trey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Trey is Time's fake name, taken up after he went back  
> -Aster is Add's name before he was actually Add. Yknow.,,,,,


End file.
